Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has approved the regularisation of services of 105,086 Lady Health Workers (LHWs) including their supporting staff, serving in all provinces, Federally Administered Areas, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit- Baltistan with effect from July 1.
He has also approved the concurrence of the government to reimburse the entire financial impact of this measure to the provinces, including arrears. He also approved a proposal to raise the issue of the programme’s financing beyond 2015 at a meeting of the Council of Common Interest for consideration and approval in the next National Finance Commission
Ashraf in a meeting with LHWs on January 3 promised to regularise their services. Provincial governments had been reluctant to regularise their services initially because of the large costs they entailed.
He said the LHW Programme had been conceived and initiated by Benazir Bhutto under the National Programme for Family and Primary Health Care. Applauding the role of LHWs, he said the regularisation of their services will have a strategic impact on the outreach programme of health care in the country.
The prime minister reaffirmed the Pakistan People’s Party led government’s commitment to regularise all contractual government employees and provide a secure working environment to them.
